Radical truck plan for Melbourne's inner-west unites rivals

By Timna Jacks

Trucks with dirty engines will be pulled off key truck routes in Melbourne's inner west for several hours a day and a new 50km/h speed limit will be imposed, under a bold new plan.

The radical proposal, designed to improve air quality and road safety, has been drawn up by unlikely bedfellows: the Victorian Transport Association, which represents the truck industry, and the Maribyrnong Truck Action Group, a community organisation that has been lobbying to remove trucks from residential streets for more than two decades.

Under the plan now being reviewed by Roads Minister Luke Donnellan, truck curfews in Yarraville would be adjusted based on the quality of truck, giving more road access to newer trucks with cleaner engines and advanced safety features.

Trucks that do not have a low-emission Euro 5 engine or better would have their curfews extended by up to seven hours a week on Francis Street and SomervilleRoad in Yarraville and Moore Street in Footscray.

During the week the curfew would start at 6pm (instead of 8pm) and end the following day at 8am (instead of 6am), with extra hours added to the weekend curfew too.

New trucks with cleaner engines and emissions control systems would have one hour shaved off the current curfews.

For the first time, curfews would also be imposed on parts of Williamstown Road, Yarraville, and Buckley Street, Footscray, while a new 50km/h speed limit for trucks and cars would be introduced on all of the routes.

Victorian Transport Association chief executive Peter Anderson said the program - which is yet to be approved by the state government, VicRoads and local council - was designed to offer a "commercial leverage" to transport operators who upgrade their fleet.

"The transport industry is an equal stakeholder on the roads, and we're acknowledging the value of community amenity."

It was hoped that lowering the speed limit from 60km/h to 50km/h on the truck routes would make the streets safer, he said.

"The trucks are getting bigger but the roads aren't. An extra seven seconds on Francis street isn't going to add to productivity, but slowing speeds from 60 to 50 will certainly help mitigate risk."

Truck drivers wanting to partake in the initiative would have to be accredited through training about curfew times, school zones and cycle paths. Drivers would carry a certified card and have a sticker on their truck.

Officers from VicRoads and Maribyrnong council, who police truck curfews, would penalise drivers breaching the new rules.

The Victorian Transport Association and the Maribyrnong Truck Action Group are typically at loggerheads over the movement of 20,000 trucks driving through the inner-west.

The lobby group formed out of concern about poor safety and pollution caused by the rise in truck numbers.

MTAG's secretary Martin Wurt called on the government to consider further incentives for the trucking industry to make the streets safer and lower pollution.

Roads Minister Luke Donnellan said he was reviewing the plan and would "have more to say soon".

The government will impose 24-hour truck bans on the truck routes (excluding Williamstown Road) by 2022.